Sleuthing Out Monet

When Monet painted Waterloo Bridge in 1903 he was on the fifth floor balcony of the Savoy Hotel, say the scientists.

Through a thick blanket of pre-war smog, it is hard to make out the bridge reaching across the Thames and the sun shining weakly above it.

Equally unclear is where the artist, Claude Monet, stood to create the painting, one of the “London series” knocked out by the great impressionist during his time in the capital between 1899 and 1901.

Now scientists claim to have solved the puzzle of Monet’s vantage point, using computerised records of the sun’s movement, ordnance survey maps of London and historical weather records. Together they reveal the exact spot where Monet stood on the balcony of the Savoy Hotel.